Canis Bella
by GreatIdeas1801
Summary: War has come to the world again, more terrible and brutal than the last. Balto has been caught in the middle of it, and he must choose between the town that hates him and the love of his life or between becoming something greater than he ever thought possible. Will he shrink from battle or will unlikely villains become hero's themselves? Rest of summary in 1st Chapter. ples review
1. Chapter 1

**Unleash the dogs of War**

Its January 1942 in Nome, Alaska and the war has gone bad for the Allies, the British have been driven back from El Alamein Egypt by Rommel, the Russians have their tails between their legs desperately trying to throw the Nazis from the Gates of Moscow. In the Pacific the Japanese juggernaut has rolled across Thailand and Burma, they've captured Malaya, Singapore and Hong Kong and have pushed the American forces in the Philippians back to the fortress of Corregidor, and have taken the fortress island of Wake. This is the situation our wolf-dog friend finds himself in.

Balto is an outcast in Nome because his blood is tainted with that of wolves and for that he is ostracized from the rest of the dogs in Nome. Our story doesn't begin with Balto but with Steele, Nikki, Kaltag and Star, four champion sled dogs that live in Nome, the sun is just now beginning to rise over the sleepy town.

"So Steele…." Asked a nervous Star, who was a small grey husky that was much smaller than the rest of his friends

"What" a very irritated Steele replied to his small counterpart

"Do you think he will really do it?"

"Never!" Steele replied viciously

"Boss hows do you know?" asked Nikki a stocky Chow-chow

"Yeah he was pretty mad last night" interrupted a tan Chinook named Kaltag,

"How do I know, easy he's a worthless half breed and a coward! He will do anything he can to trick people into thinking he's more than that. But not me I see right through his half-breed tricks" Replied a furious Steele.

"yeah but…." Star started

"Star…his whole race is dirty, they think they are as good as us pure bred dogs, and will use any tricks at their disposal to get us to trust them and then when they have our trust they will stab us in the back whenever the situation dictates… for now let's keep what happened under the rug, we might have use for this information in the future" the championship sled dog replied. The rest nodded and fell behind their leader on the way back to the Old Mill

Meanwhile on a dilapidated fishing trawler, Balto sat alone on the bow looking out at the town of Nome, thinking back to the night before that had lead him to say something's that he wished he had rather not said at all now.

_FLASHBACK to Nome the night before, inside the Old Mill Steele and his gang sit amongst the other dogs of Nome discussing the War meanwhile outside Balto sneaks around through back alleys trying to find something to eat, not knowing that someone has been trailing him the entire time he was at Nome._

'The butcher shop always has good pickings at this hour, most of the dogs are in the mill right now so I should be safe' with that he side stepped a "sneak attack" and just stared at his mysterious red and white attacker, 'should be' he chuckled to himself. "Jenna I smelled you the moment I entered Nome, but nice try", Jenna, a red and white husky stood back up and shook the thick snow that had covered her fur off, "so you do care" she replied , "nope, just aware of my surroundings" he replied back. He could tell that wasn't the answer she was hoping for, because he could see a small scowl developing on her face, "but you are welcomed to join me for dinner behind the butcher shop". "I would like that very much she replied, lead the way" she said but not before flicking him playfully in the nose with her tail. Their walk wasn't very long and neither was their meal, Balto hadn't expected anyone to be with him when he ate so a normally small meal for one had to split between two dogs now.

Though he didn't mind going hungry if it meant he could spend time with Jenna. "hey Balto you know, if you're hungry again in the future just find me and I'll get you some food from my place, I don't like you risking your neck out here to just end up with scraps, and it would get me out of having to deal with Steele." She said with a slight smile on her face, "Jenna you know as well as I do that If we're seen together bad things will happen to you and worse things to me" fighting back tears Jenna wanted argue but she knew deep down he was right. Seeing the distraught in her eyes, Balto quickly pulled Jenna in for a comforting hug, at that point she began to sob deeply into his chest. "Shhh… it everything will be alright" he said. "no…it won't it will never be alright, why can't the others see the good in you like I do, I just wished there was something you could do to prove to everyone that you're not what they think you are". Unknown to them though, there was a small Scottish terrier watching everything, 'Steele needs to see this' he said to himself and with that he rushed over to the mill.

Steele and his crew were sitting around at the mill with some of the other dogs, listening to the war correspondence coming over the radio. "_General Winter has stopped the Nazi's cold in their tracks; Moscow has been saved for now, though speculations of the Russia's army strength remains scant at best, in Africa the Germans continue their drive toward Suez, and in the far east japan still seems unstoppable but their advance has been halted at the Philippian island of Bataan, MacArthur says he will hold at all costs_." The news turns off and some generic 40s song begins to play out of it. "Steele do you think the Japs will come here?" asked a very wide eyed Pomeranian named Dixie. "Ha they better not because if they did their going to have to mess with me, and if that happens we will win the war for sure!" many girl dogs swooned at his tough talk. "He's the bravest, the strongest, the most forward charging…" "You're a hero!" said Kaltag before being interrupted by Star of which Kaltag gave Star a nice smack on the head. "I don't like to brag but…." Steele started before a terrier came running in through the doors, "Steele, Steele, I saw Jenna with Balto, at the butcher shop, he was holding her and she was crying!" the little guy said. Steele, angered, quickly rose to his paws, "boys our lobo friend has gone too far this time", with a nod from his posse, Steele quickly led them over to the butcher shop.

Balto had begun to walk Jenna home when all of a sudden Steele and his goons came around the corner and blocked their route home. "Where do you think you're going "Bingo?" asked an apparently angry Steele. "I was just taking Jenna back to her place" Balto replied. "Don't worry we'll take it from here I don't want you to get your half breed filth all over my girl." Steele said with a devious smile across his face, Balto could tell that this was a no win situation, "Jenna go with him." "but….." she tried to reply before being cut off by a concerned looking Balto, "remember what I said about a bad and worse situation, well this is what I was talking about, save yourself the trouble and please just go" she didn't want to but she knew Balto would get hurt if she didn't comply. "Alright Steele take me home" at that moment the terrier from earlier came up from behind, "you, terrier take Jenna home, me and the boys have got to teach Balto some manners." Steele said. "Come on little lady let's get out of here things are about to get messy" walking away Jenna looked back and prayed nothing would happen to the dog she loves. When they were out of sight Steele began to circle around Balto, unleashing a torrent of verbal jeers at him. "I can't believe you just let her go, I knew you half-breeds were heartless but this is an all-new low for you, you won't even stand up for yourself I can't believe that I actually thought you would stand up for her, Jenna would never fall for a mutt like you." Balto knew he was right, Jenna would never fall for him if he couldn't stand up for himself. Balto looked to his left to see the post office window and what he saw would change his life that night. Inside the window was a poster of an American soldier with an attack dog at his side while he was firing his gun. 'I'll join the army and ill become something more than they could ever be' he thought to himself. "Hey wolf dog did you hear me I said….." "I'm joining the army!" Steele and his gang were taken aback by this sudden outburst. "you'll do what" a now visibly angry Steele asked. "you heard me tough guy, I'm going to join up and become everything you're not because your nothing but a coward and a cheat, you and your whole gang, neither of you can stand up for yourself with our the other three there to back you up, you fight for nothing while I'm going to be out there fighting for my country, and everyone will see you for the true cowards you are." If looks could kill the look Steele gave Balto a look that would kill a thousand times over. Get out of here wolf dog, if I see you again Axis bullets will be the least of your worries. Balto knew not to look a gift horse in the mouth and took his opportunity for escape gladly. "Come on guys lets head back to the mill; the sun is starting to rise." The short walk was a quiet one, Steele was irritated to say the least, 'he called me a coward there is no way someone like him would join, but if he does then what will they think about me…..' Steele's thoughts were interrupted by Star

"So Steele…."


	2. Chapter 2: The Unforgiven

Chapter 2: the Unforgiven

**Authors note: this chapter should have the song "the Unforgiven" by Metallica as a musical overtone to the chapter.**

Balto just sat there on his boat; it was only at this point that the gravity of what he had said began to hit him. He had told Steele he would join the army! Steele was the biggest talker in town, he knew that he would spin the story and force him to join or be called out as a liar in front of everyone, which would cause everyone to believe Steele's lies that wolf-dogs were liars and cheats, when Balto knew damn well that the only liar and cheat in town was Steele. Then he thought 'what would I tell Jenna, I love you and oh by the way I kinda joined the Army, yeah that will go over well'. It was then that Boris, a Russian snow goose, came up behind him, "Preeviet boychic, how vas your day today? You have seemed down since you came home vast night." Balto sighs, "Boris, can I ask you something?" he asked. "Anything, come tell Uncle Boris your troubles" Balto then began to tell Boris his current predicament, "say you told off some people by saying you would do something that you never meant to do in the first place, and if you didn't do it the people you told off would brand you as a liar and would get people to hate you even more than they already do for it?"

Boris sat and thought for a moment running his feathers across his head before finally coming up with an answer, "I would do what I promised even if I didn't want to or was scared, you can't break promises you make, even if it is too your worst enemy." Balto knew what Boris said was true but at the same time he knew that somehow he would have to tell Jenna. "Thanks Boris" "no problem, now get some sleep you look like you need it" Boris said.

The next day came and went without provocation or confrontation, Balto knew he had to keep his word, but at the same time he really did want to go out and protect the people of Nome from the enemy even if the people and dogs didn't like him, it was an over whelming sense of duty that drove Balto to sneak over to the post office that January afternoon, at the doggy door that led into the post office, there was a sign that said, "_dog volunteers to the rear of the building for inspection_." 'Great' he thought 'an inspection, no doubt an excuse for the recruiter to deny me just because I am part wolf, well nothing ventured nothing gained'. When Balto went around the corner to the back of the office, he noticed that there were no other dogs there, except for a black Labrador, "are you here to join?" he asked in a very deep and commanding voice. Balto, not wanting to look sheepish, responded quickly "yes I want to fight to defend my country, is this the inspection?" the lab smiled and said "yes it is…" he paused before continuing "under normal circumstances I would ask you what breed you are and if you've had all your shots and so on and so forth, but because we have such low recruiting numbers in this town I'm going to make an exception for you, you're in" Balto couldn't believe it ' he was in….no questions asked, it was moments like this that made him think that someone was watching out for him. "at the moment you are stuck here, the truck that comes to pick up the new recruits won't arrive for another week, I suggest you say your goodbyes to those close to you before you ship off for basic." "Basic?" an inquisitive Balto asked, "It's short for basic training" the lab replied. "Thanks sir, one week from today at what time? Sir." He asked, "in the morning around 9 am, don't be late, and if possible convince some friends to come with you, we could always use the help." The Lab replied. 'Unless you take polar bears, and old geese you're out of luck in my friend department' Balto thought to himself as he left the post office that afternoon for his boat, he knew he would have to tell Boris and Jenna, just when and how was going to be tricky, 'I'll tell them the day before, I don't want them to worry about me for the whole week…..or give them time to talk me out of it' he thought to himself.

6 days later…

Balto walked slowly to Jenna's house that day, trying to give himself enough time to come up with a good explanation for what he had done, even though he'd almost had a whole week to come up with one, nothing really came to him in that time. He was so lost in thought that he didn't notice he was there until he bumped right into the fence that surrounded her house. It didn't go unnoticed either, he could hear laughter behind him, "Balto what are you doing here?" Jenna laughed as she asked. Balto fake smiled as best he could but Jenna knew him well enough to know something was wrong. "Balto what's wrong?" she asked, "it's better if you follow me….i have something to tell you" he replied. Her heart fluttered for a brief second 'maybe he will ask me' she thought to herself, 'no he said he doesn't want to see me hurt because of him, but whatever he needs to say it has to be important to want me to come into town with him'.

They walked in silence the whole way, many dogs they passed by gave them ugly stares while others straight up growled at them, especially Balto. One of the dogs was already on their way to get Steele, Balto knew he would have to make this fast. He brought her over to the poster and sat right under it with her facing him and the poster at the same time. "listen Jenna I have something important to tell you", he stated in a somber tone. "Balto you're scaring me with your attitude today what is happening?" "I am joi…" Balto was interrupted by Steele and his gang rounding the corner. "Well well well what's wrong with this picture" the pretentious malamute stated with grim confidence in his voice, "last time you were here we told you not to come back or there would be consequences" he said. By now a large group of dogs began to form around them, curious at what was going on and some were secretly hoping to see a half-breed beat down from Steele. "don't worry Steele I was …" Balto began before being cut off by Steele "I wasn't finished yet…" it was at this time that the black Lab recruiter came out to see what all the commotion was about, "there was something else that was said that night by you" Steele smiled smugly knowing he was about to strip the wolf dog of what little honor he had, "what was it that he said boss, mys mind is a little fuzzy" "don't worry Nikki ill remind you and reveal to this town that Balto and wolf dogs like him are nothing but liars and dangerous! He said so confidently to us about a week ago that he was going to join the army, but yet here he is in Nome, why haven't you joined wolfy were you lying or were you too much of a coward to face death like a real dog?" Steele smiled confidently; he could see the whole crowd was ready to chase Balto away forever. "I can answer that!" A voice from the back of the crowd said. The dogs all turned to see a large black Labrador walking forward until he was nose to nose with Steele. "who the hell are you" the indignant malamute spat, the large lab didn't even flinch or move at Steele's words "I am Sargent Lindsey head recruiter for this town for dogs for the war, and I what I want to know is why a little punk like you is picking a fight with one of my volunteers?" the expression on Steele and his gangs' faces went from total confidence to utter fear, "him?" Star quipped while he pointed at Balto who was now standing defiantly with a blank expression on his face, yet Star could tell there was fire in his eyes. "Yes him" Lindsey responded "he was the only one in this town of cowards to volunteer for service, so ill ask again why are you giving my recruit shit, tough guy!" he finished that statement by pushing Steele back a little. Steele had hoped it wouldn't come to this but that damn wolf dog had forced his hand. "we were actually just on our way to volunteer when we saw this filth by the post office" Steele said with some confidence, "we?" Lindsey stated. "Yeah me and my friends want to volunteer." "we do?" a scared Star managed to squeak out, before being smashed on the head by Kaltag, "Balto has called our bluff there is only one way out now" Kaltag whispered into Stars ear. Kaltag and Nikki didn't like it what their boss did, but they knew things would be really bad for them in Nome if Balto comes back a hero or even worse if he dies protecting them and they didn't go. "Well then" Lindsey began "be here tomorrow around midday, the truck to take you to training bases in California will be waiting to pick you up." "Great we will be there" Steele responded, "come on boys let's say our good byes…everyone! meet us in the boiler room tonight for a going away party." With that the posse left the area for the boiler room. Jenna was beside herself in shock, the only person that she truly cared about was about to go and fight for a town that hated him and possibly die and leave her alone, when she came back she saw that Balto was trying to sneak away from her and the crowd. She wouldn't let him get away with this without an explanation.

The die was cast as the saying goes.

**Each of these chapters will have a song that governs the overall atmosphere of the story as it progresses. **


	3. Chapter 3: Death Before Dishonor

**Chapter 3: Death Before Dishonor**

**Death before Dishonor by Five Finger Death Punch**

"why?" she said with tears streaming down her face, "why would you do this? What do you have to prove?" Balto looked at her, he knew no matter what he said it wouldn't make the situation better. "I just…I just wanted to do something with my life that I could be proud of in my life, that you could be proud of….." she looked at him with almost a look of disgust, "you're doing this for me how does going across the world to die give me something to be proud of?" Jenna inquired. "BECAUSE I AM NOTHING!" Balto exclaimed, "Everything I've done to be who I am has been taken away by the liars the cheaters and all of Nome's haters, that's the way it has always been, and maybe if I go and come back I can finally be something in their eyes but most importantly in yours….I….I..love you Jenna, I have since I first met you." There was a moment of silence between the two star crossed lovers. "Balto…I know" _(What if I was nothing by All that Remains begins) _she said with a smile, "I've been waiting for you to say those words for so long but now that you said it (**She begins to sob heavily**) your about to be taken away from me and you may never come back" Balto walked over to her side and began to comfort her, "I will come back, I promise….my only question is will you still love me if I come back missing a leg?" almost instantly she answered, "Balto I would love you even if you were nothing." They embrace,(_Never Enough by FFDP begins_) "but Balto I still don't understand why you have to go to war in order to prove to the dogs here that you're a good soul." He paused for a moment, "Jenna I have always been the good dog that I thought people wanted me to be but it was never enough, I'm just so fed up with everyone around me, no one here seems to care what good I do, nothings gonna change for me, its always do this do that everything they want me to do and I'm tired of living that way….and every fucking chance Steele gets he's always pushing me aside It was getting late and Balto still needed to tell Boris. "Jenna I have to go tell Boris, I will come see you tomorrow before I leave." She looked into his yellow eyes "Promise?" she said "I promise" he responded.

In the boiler room there was much feasting, because the 4 champions of Nome were going off to war the following day, our 4 friends lying by the fire surrounded by the other dogs of Nome who were singing the their praises, "you guys are so brave!" one dog exclaimed. "the Nazis should surrender now if they know what's good for them." Another one joked, that got the whole room laughing, "and when we is done with dem the japs are next!" Nikki spoke up this got a round of applause from the crowd. "Yeah but what about Balto, he joined up first, we have to admit that takes balls." One dog stated, the room became deadly silent at the comment, "What if he dies?" Dixie asked. "Good riddance" came Steele's voice over the crowd. He stood up from a group of bitches that were around him and walked center stage where everyone could see him. "Have you guys forgotten that he is a half-breed his whole goal in life is to destroy us, they are below us dogs all they do is hold us back, we have caught him multiple times stealing from the butcher shop, he eats our food. And he is half wolf, those creatures are dirty and sub dog, they have not a master and will attack ours whenever they get the chance." Many nodded their head in agreement. "If the wolf dog dies then he is one less problem for us to worry about."

Meanwhile at the Trawler

_(__**Death Before Dishonor by FFDP begins)**_Boris sat there speechless for what seemed like forever, he could only mutter one word in Russian, "Balvan" Balto look confused, "what was that" Boris began to curse in Russian " Balvan Cykashin! why would you do this?" " I was just following your advice" Balto replied sheepishly, "I thought your issue was with a promise that you didn't like not with joining the damn army!" Boris replied. "You said that a promise should be kept or it will cause me to lose honor!" an indignant Balto replied. Boris was quick to reproach him, "the price of your honor shouldn't be death, there is much more in life to live for". Balto had become very angry with Boris, "I HAVE NOTHING TO LIVE FOR HERE!" he exclaimed, "everyone here wants me dead or gone, the only person I love I can't be with, and even today Steele tried to strip me of my honor in public and I could see in the eyes of the dogs that were there that they wanted to see me fail. I know what I choose…..I choose death before dishonor, I'd rather die than live down on my knees, and when I die I want to be buried like a soldier, with my dignity, because Boris that's all I have left, I don't want to be scared and afraid anymore." Boris knew his son was right, for all the good he tried to do nobody ever gave him the time of day or respect he deserved. "I just don't want you to get hurt" Balto was quick to reply "Boris, I have a better chance of getting hurt or killed here than I do in some far away country." "well it looks like there's no stopping you, my only fear is that you are going to realize the truth of war the hard way…..now go to bed you don't want to be late to the truck, trust me you don't want that." Balto went into his cabin and crawled under his blanket and was quickly fast asleep with dreams of Jenna and glory playing in his mind.

"VAKE UP BOYCHICK!" Balto was rudely awakened by a screaming Boris. "Boris whats up?" "You need to be if you don't want to be late!" Boris replied. "Boris what time is it?" "Almost midday, you need to hurry if you don't want to be late." Balto was out of the boat in a flash. 'how could I sleep in?' he thought to himself.

Jenna sat at the truck wondering where Balto was, "he should have been here by now" "I knew that wolf dog was a coward" came a voice from inside the truck. Jenna turned to see it was Steele. "He'll be here" she said. "Humph I bet" said the proud malamute. "Bet what?" came the voice of Balto from behind Jenna. She turned and smiled and gave him a hug "told you I would show up to say good bye" he said, "Just be careful out there ok?" "I will" he replied. "Hey Balto get on the truck we are leaving" Sgt Lindsey said. Balto hopped into the back of the truck and a Soldier came around the back and shut the door so that nobody could jump out. The truck began to drive away and Balto could see Nome getting smaller and smaller as the truck drove away. Steele walked up beside him and sat down "I have to give you credit lobo, I didn't think you would show, but don't take my words to heart I still don't trust you." With that Steele made his way back to his corner of the truck where he sat down with his friends. Balto looked out the back of the truck again and could see a brilliant white wolf standing on a hill watching him. He quickly turned away in shame and when he turned back the wolf was gone. 'Strange' he thought to himself.

**FFDP=Five Finger Death Punch**

**This was a short chapter I promise there will be longer ones in the future, I just wanted to get Balto out of Nome, I'm as anxious you guys are to get to the war.**


	4. Chapter 4: Fortunate Son

Chapter 4: In the Army Now

**Fortunate son by C.C.R it is just a good song for this chapter, this chapter borrows heavily from a few movies, try to see if you can guess which ones in the comments.**

The truck travelled for 2 straight days, stopping only to let the dogs out to eat or to go to the bathroom, until they arrived at the Juneau airport. From there they were flown to a military base outside San Francisco.

"Finally some fresh air, and im glad im off that piece of shit plane" an annoyed Kaltag exclaimed,

"I was quite comfortable, to tell you guys the truth" Star said before receiving a nice smack on the head from Kaltag, "Of course you were you little rat now let's find out where we have to go" Steele explained. Some humans in green fatigues with leashes came over to them and led them to a tent where a man with an apron was waiting for them with shears in hand, he quickly shaved all their thick shaggy fur coats off, which none of them really complained about considering how hot it was there compared to frigid Alaska.

Next they had new thick leather collars with dog tags that had their names on them issued to them. They were then taken to a large dog kennel, Steele and his gang was taken to the left and Balto was taken to the right. When Balto entered his kennel he saw that there were an additional four spots 'great im going to have company, hopefully they don't have the same hate towards me like Steele does' he thought to himself.

"Hey you must be new!" a happy German Shepard said from behind, "Yeah I just got here this afternoon, do you live in here too?" Balto asked.

"Yep, the names Vinny"

"Nice to meet you Vinny, my names Balto" Balto said extending his paw out, which Vinny shook.

"Do you know who are the other guys that will be staying with us are?" Balto asked.

"Yeah they were just behind me" Vinny said as he looked behind him to see three other figures entering into the large dog house. "Ahhh here they are…guys I want you to meet our new Kennel mate, Balto"

"Nice to meet ya" they all said in unison "this big guy here is Wes" Wes was a large Doberman, next Vinny came up next to a medium sized white and black Pit Bull "this tough guy is Brooklyn, and you'll never guess where he is from" Vinny stated sarcastically.

"uhhh New York?" Balto answered

"Congratulations, you want a treat?" Brooklyn fired back.

"Easy there killer" a grey Husky said

"Oh and last but not least is Kodi"

"Nice to meet you" Balto said

"The pleasures all mine" Kodi replied. Wes then came up behind Balto, "you can clearly see what all of our different breeds are but, I'm having some trouble tryin to figure you out."

"what do you mean?" Balto asked, hoping to God that they would find out his secret. "Well you strike me as a husky, like Kodi over dere but most huskies I've met have silver blue eyes, yours are yellow and I know I aint ever seen one with paws as big as yours, you almost look like a wol…." He was interrupted by a loud whistle and a dog outside screaming.

"ALL RIGHT YOU PUKES, EVERYONE GET OUT HERE NOW!"

"Oh shit! It's the drill sergeant" Kodi said, and with that all the dogs were out of their house as fast as they could go. When they got out there they got in line with the rest of the dogs in the Kennel, there they could see a large Rottweiler walking down the pavement inspecting each of the dogs.

"STAND AT ATTENTION YOU SLOBBS" he stated. They all quickly puffed out their chests and sucked in their guts, he then began to pace back and forth up and down the line. "That's better, I am Drill Sergeant Fitch, and am going to be your worst nightmare for the next 2 months, from now on you will only speak when spoken too and the only words out of your filthy traps will be the words 'sir yes sir' do you all understand?"

"SIR YES SIR" they all replied.

"In my outfit there is no pedigree requirement I do not look down on lobos, half breeds, mutts howlers, or rats, because to me you are all equally worthless! Do you maggots understand that?"

"sir yes sir" they replied.

"BULLSHIT I CANT HERE YOU!"

"SIR YES SIR!" they replied again.

He stopped in front of Balto, "what's your name scumbag?"

"Sir Pvt. Balto sir!"

"What the hell kind of fucked up breed are you?"

'Dammit' he thought to himself, he knew if he lied to the drill sergeant Steele would just tell on him and get him in trouble.

"Sir I'm half wolf Sir!" this caused a small gasp to come up from the other dogs

"SHUT THE FUCK UP" Fitch ordered, the dogs all complied.

"Do you think your better than the rest of us because your half wolf?"

"Sir No Sir"

"Well I can guarantee one thing private, if I catch you howlin at the damn moon I will run you till your damn lungs explode, do you understand?"

"Sir yes Sir"

"Awooo" Steele let out a small howl which caused some of the dogs around him to start laughing.

"WHO DID THAT?, WHO THE FUCK JUST DID THAT?" Fitch said as he started walking down the line towards Steele, "WHOS THE SCUM FUCKING COMEDIAN WHO JUST SIGNED HIS OWN GODDAMN DEATH WARRANT!" nobody spoke up. "Well nobody ehh, Ill run you guys so goddamned hard you'll be drinking water through your asses!"

Fitch then got nose to nose with Star, "Was it you, you mangy little mutt?" "Sir, no Sir" a terrified Star replied "YOU LITTLE PIECE OF SHIT YOU LOOK LIKE A FUCKING RAT, I BET IT WAS YOU"

"Sir no Sir" Star replied.

Steele didn't mind letting others take the fall for him, but he knew in this environment that if he let Star take the fall for this one somebody would get him back with something a lot worse.

"Sir I said it sir" Steele said, this earned him a disbelieved look from Star.

Fitch looked at him and slowly made his way to him until he was nose to nose with him.

"What's your name Private?"

"Sir Steele Sir!"

"Quite the jokester ehh. I admire your honesty, hell I like you; you can come over to my house and fuck my wife" Fitch then punched Steele right in the face, which knocked him down. "YOU LITTLE SHIT I GOT YOUR NUMBER, I GOT YOUR ASS, YOU WILL NOT CRY AND YOU WILL NOT QUIT, IF YOU PULL ANOTHER STUNT LIKE THAT I'LL MAKE YOUR LIFE HERE A LIVING HELL."

Steele quickly got up, and quickly glanced at Fitch, "are you eyeing me with those baby blue eyes, Steele? Are you in love with me?"

"Sir no Sir"

"So you don't think I look good with my fur shaved down?"

"Sir you look fine Sir"

"Oh so your gay and you love me?"

"SIR NO SIR" Steele replied

"You look like the kind of guy that would fuck a dog in the asshole and not even have the goddamn common courtesy to give him a reach around, I'll be watching you!"

Sgt. Fitch continued to pace down the line until he came to Nikki.

"What's your name fatboy?"

"Sir, Private Nikki Sir!"

"You're so damn ugly you could be a modern art masterpiece!"

"Sir yes Sir!"

"Do you suck dick Pvt?"

"no sir" Nikki replied

"Bullshit, I bet you could suck a golf ball through a garden hose"

He continued to walk down the line until he came to Kodi.

"Where are you from Private?"

"Sir, Alaska Sir" Kodi replied

"HOLY FUCK NUGGETS ALASKA!, ONLY MOOSES AND QUEERS COME FROM ALASKA and you don't look like a moose so I guess that kinda narrows it down."

"Sir yes Sir"

"Nikki and Steele are from Alaska Pvt and they seem pretty well acquainted with each other, makes me think I may have something to this whole queer thing…Do you agree?"

"Sir no Sir"

Seeing that he wasn't getting the fun he wanted out of Kodi he continued to proceed with the days training regimen.

"All right you slobs now that the fun is outta the way, I've noticed that you all have been sitting for quite some time and I have just the exercise to cure that, you will all start running until I say stop."

This earned a collective groan from the entire company

"DID I FUCKING STUTTER….. NOW GET MOVING THAT'S AN ORDER!"

They all took off with Balto, Steele, Nikki, Kaltag, Star and Kodi taking a huge lead over the others, with their sled training taking over, they all naturally blocked out the pain of continuous running. While many of the other dogs struggled to even keep up a medium pace, the sled dogs were actually getting faster.

"HA..these morons don't know who their messing with." Steele let out

"Yeah it will take a lot more than a little run to make us tired!" Kaltag exclaimed

They seriously underestimated Drill Sgt. Fitch and the weather

4 hours later…

5 dead tired dogs walked into their house and laid down on their mats

"That Fitch…..is a fucking dick" Brooklyn said between gasps for air

"Your tellin me" Wes replied

"Seriously….4 hours of straight…..running….on the first day" an exhausted Vinny let out.

"Not to mention it was hot as shit out there" Brooklyn said

"Yeah and we have obstacle course training with our handlers first thing in the morning." Kodi added in

"I don't know who is worse, Fitch…or Hitler" Wes joked in between breaths.

This earned a collected laugh from the whole group, except Balto. Kodi noticed this and was quick to confront him about it.

"Balto what's wrong with you?"

"you guys know that I'm half wolf and you're not trying to rip me apart…why?"

"Why would we do that?"

"Yeah your our friend" Wes added in

"it's just…that …. In my old town I was an…no…**The **outcast, any time I would come into town the other dogs led by Steele would chase me out of town"

"Just for being half wolf?" Vinny asked

"I knew that Steele guy was trouble, I could just tell by that shit eating grin he always has on his face." Brooklyn interjected.

"Don't worry Balto, you're our squad mate and we won't let that bastard or any of his cronies get you without at least having us there to back you up." Wes said

Balto was awestruck, his whole life he looked for dogs who would accept him for who he was, and not what he was, and he had finally found them. He was sure of it now, he may not take a bullet for Nome, but he knew he could take one for these guys.

"Come on guys let's get some sleep, we've got a busy day tomorrow" Balto said

Day 1…


	5. Chapter 5: Bad Company

Chapter 5: Bad Company

5 months later….. June 2nd 1942

The plane touched down in Anchorage, Alaska 9 dog Kennels where taken out of the Plane and loaded onto a truck northbound for Nome. It had been 3 months of training and another 2 months of relocating the enemy within to places where they could no longer spy for the enemy, the boys were deserving of a long overdue rest to say the least.

"Hey Nikki what're you going to do when we get home?" Kaltag asked.

"Ill tells you what im gonna do, im gonna find the biggest steak I can get my paws on and then im gonna spend the rest of the night eating it with the prettiest girl that can't get her paws off me." Nikki replied this got the whole truck laughing.

"What about you Steele?"

"Forget the steak" he started "I just want the girl, and if my calculations are right the bitches back home are going to be in need of a lot of company boys" Steele said. This got a lot of excited barking and whistles from the rest of his crew.

"A lot of bad company is more like it" Balto challenged with a slight smile

"The 'brave' Balto finally speaks, just because your pack isn't home for you to visit doesn't mean you have to ruin the rest of ours" Steele spat.

Balto wished dearly that his and Steele's cage would open up so he could kill him right there. But he knew that it wouldn't get him anywhere in this situation.

"I'll let you off the hook this time, but remember what I did to you in combat training and don't talk to me the rest of the trip." Steele growled viciously at Balto through his cage. "THAT WAS A CHEAP SHOT AND YOU KNOW IT!" it was at this point that Star jumped in to calm the situation down.

"Whoa easy guys, remember what Fitch told us…."

"'we gotta work together to survive' yeah we remember" Wes chimed in "your point?"

"My point is that if we continue to fight like this somebody is going to end up dead!" Star finished

This made Balto and Steele back off and think about their chances in an actual battle. There was a moment of silence before Steele spoke up "All right half-breed I'll make a deal with you, I won't fuck with you in town so long as you don't come near me. This isn't an extension of friendship I still don't like you or trust you…."

"The feeling is mutual" Balto interrupted

Holding back a growl Steele continued "but Star is right, out in the field we are going to have to work together in order to survive….. but the moment the war is over we go back to where we were."

"Deal, but you have to stay away from Jenna." Balto responded

Steele was rather reluctant to answer at first but knew it was the only way to keep the peace and stay alive out there, 'and besides' he thought 'If he dies she will need someone to comfort her and who better than me' "Alright Bingo it's a deal" he said with a smile

It was at this time that Vinny spoke up "hey guys, in all seriousness we need to talk about something"

"What?" Brooklyn responded

"I just wanted to remind everyone that we are under orders to not tell a soul about what happened to the japs in 'Frisco"

Kaltag was the first one to defend their actions "they could have been spies!"

"Yeah, we know Japanese citizens were the ones who took pictures of the battleship row at Pearl, we can't let that happen again!" Wes said.

"I know I'm not disagreeing with you, but the civvies back home may not see it the way we do" Vinny responded

"We will keep our promise, right guys" Steele said. All the dogs nodded their head; even Balto knew it was for the greater good of the country.

Meanwhile in Nome…

Jenna was lying on her porch enjoying the summer sun while waiting for Rosy to return home from school when she saw Dixie and Sylvie walking toward her with the biggest of grins on their faces. They both approached her and sat in front of her without speaking the two of them eyeing each other excitingly.

"Alright what's going on you two?" Jenna asked

Not one for being able to keep a secret Dixie blurted out "The boys are coming home today!"

Jenna gasped "What! How did you find out?"

"We overheard Morse's master saying that the boys would be coming home on leave for a few days" Sylvie cut in.

"When will they be back?" Jenna asked

"2 days!" Dixie exclaimed "Ohh Jenna isn't this great we're gonna get to see Steele again! I mean he's…"

Jenna didn't seem to be interested in what the Pomeranian was saying; she was too busy thinking about Balto. So much so she didn't notice her friend talking to her.

"…..Jenna are you even listening to me?" Dixie said when she noticed her friend's absentmindedness

Quickly snapping out of her trance she answered her friend

"oh yeah yeah, Steele and things…. I was listening"

Her friends were less than satisfied with her answer

"Jenna what's with you aren't you happy that Steele is coming back?"

"It's not that…. I just..." Jenna didn't get to finish

"Jenna, Steele is going to be a genuine hero, but do you give him a sniff?" Dixie said

"That's because Jenna is running with Balto" Sylvie stated

"No" Dixie squeaked, looking at Jenna almost as if her eyes would pop out of her head

"They were seen sharing a meal together behind the butcher shop and walking together the day before he left, and I heard it all from a very reliable source so don't bother to deny it"

"Well then I won't" Jenna replied smiling with an air of innocence in her voice

Sylvie stood there with her mouth agape "I'm speechless"

Dixie being annoyed with her friends reluctance to see Steele for the hero he is, stormed off "Come on Sylvie, let's go get everyone ready for Steele and the teams heroic return." She said. With that the two show dogs left an excited Jenna on her porch alone. '_YES_!' she thought, '_he is coming back, just like he promised'_ her eyes widened, "I better go tell Boris" she thought to herself.

Boris sat on his trawler, looking out over the now open sea, free of ice, reflecting on the last 5 months without Balto. It had been hard, not physically but mentally, not knowing whether his adopted son was still alive or dead on some unknown battlefield on the other side of the world. If it wasn't for Muck and Luck, he might have gone crazy by now, although being alone with those two bears was enough to make any one crazy.

He was just beginning to doze off when he heard someone calling his name

"BORIS!"

"Ugh Cykashin who could that be?" he said getting up, waddling over to the side railing of his boat he could see a red and white husky running towards him. '_it's Jenna_' he said _'I wonder what she could want_?'

"Boris are you there?" Jenna asked

"Yes I am here, but my question is vhy are you here?" he replied

"Boris I have wonderful news"

"well spit out this news vhich is so wonderful" he said

"Balto is coming home in two days!" she said elated

"Oh that's good…..wait you said vhat!" Boris said almost choking on his words

"Yep he's coming back" she responded

He sat there speechless for a few seconds before a 'welcome home' idea formed in his head, "Jenna would you help me with something?"

Sure what is it?

"Can you help me clean up this place, I don't want Balto to come home to a dirty ship"

She smiled; Boris had been mopping the deck of that ship religiously every day since Balto left she knew the old goose just wanted company and someone to talk to.

"Alright Boris I'll help you" she said with a smile.

2 days later June 4th 1942

Today was the day the boys returned home and the entire town was a buzz to welcome home their friends from training, at least that's how it was for the dog population. Dixie and Sylvie were walking together, discussing the fun they would have that night in the boiler room, when all of a sudden they heard someone shout, "hey I see some trucks, ITS THEM!, the boys are back in town!" the dogs rushed to Main St. to welcome home their friends from training.

**In the truck **

"Alright boys remember not a word about the internment camps", Steele said. They all nodded their heads.

"and remember we are United States attack dogs, the best of the best, don't do anything stupid in town to tarnish that" Balto told them

"and remember to have fun with the ladies" Star added in. this caused the lot of them to start smiling, the thought of Star getting any tail was laughable enough.

The trucks stopped and the driver and passenger got out and walked around to the back to let the dogs out. They unlatched the drop door and let it fall to the ground with a loud thud, the nine dogs calmly jumped down from their ride, Steele and his squad walking to the center of the crowd to get as much attention as they could. Balto and his friends held back, mostly because he was still the outcast and his friends were new to the place and didn't want to cause any problems. That didn't stop some of the towns dogs from coming over to them to inspect them.

"Well, Balto I have to admit I didn't think you had it in you to make it all the way through, but you showed us" one dog said. "Yeah we thought for sure you would drop out" another said, "you've earned my respect" someone else chimed in. Balto had never been so happy in his life, even though it was just a small number of supporters, it was a start.

"Thank you, for giving me a chance" was all Balto could say to them.

"Balto I know we gave you a hard time in the past, and I know this by no means makes up for it, but would you and your friends like to come to the Old saw mill tonight for a party?"

"I don't know let me check…..hey guys would….." when he turned his head he saw that they were already talking to 4 other girl dogs about the night. "By the looks of things I think they will be going no matter what" he said rubbing the back of his head while smiling.

"but what about you?" the same dog said

"I kind of just wanted to spend the night with Jenna" he said with a smile.

"If that's what you want then so be it, but ill warn you it's going to be fun" the dog said in a joking manner

"Speaking of… by chance have any of you seen Jenna?" he asked, while scanning the crowd in search of her.

"Yeah she was up by your boat this morning, I would start looking there" one of the dogs said.

"Thank you" Balto said as he took off toward his boat.

"vey…vey he's coming" an excited Boris said as he jumped down from the mast down to the deck shuffling Jenna below deck. "I hope he likes what we did with the place" Jenna said, "are you kidding he vill love da place, now ve quite we don't want him to get suspicious".

"Boris are you in there" they heard Balto shout.

"Da, come in boychick, I'm in the hull of the ship, come on down." Boris said.

_for someone who seemed to be so sad to see me go he sure seems like its nothing much for me to return shit I thought he would at least be excited to see me _Balto thought to himself as he walked down the gangplank into the hull with a sour expression stuck to his face, although it wouldn't last, for when he entered the hull of the ship he got quite a surprise.

There sitting on his old blanket was Jenna underneath a "Welkum home Balto" sign, and a nice fat juicy steak in his food bowl. She was shocked at his new appearance, when he left he was a shaggy gray half wolf with barley any physique at all other than having a half starved look about him, now he was much larger, his fur was evenly shaved short, and his muscle tone had increased drastically from skin and bone to a well fighting machine. It truly was her turn to blush and turn away from him instead of how it normally was.

Boris unable to contain himself anymore quickly ran up and embraced his son, "oy ive missed you so much" he started to tear up, "are you home for good now?" he asked with tears still in his eyes. "No" was the only word the wolf dig could utter, for there was no reason to say anymore.

Meanwhile…..

"Then why are you here right now, you're not deserting are you?" a confused Dixie inquired from her canine hero, Steele. Before Steele could speak Star cut him off.

"We are on short leave; we will have to leave for the war in about a week"

This caused a stir from the dogs in the boiler room, and for Star to earn a knock on the head from Kaltag.

Seeing the situation playing out before him Steele used his charisma and guile to turn this anxious fear into an opportunity, " Everyone please calm yourselves, we have a week together and I say we make the most of it because this may be the last time we are all together in this room"

Back at the boat….

"please don't say things like that" a noticeably worried Jenna said

"i said it **may be **the last time, nothing is definite in our futures." Balto said "as I said to you before I left… to both of you in fact, was I promised I would come home, and I have kept that promise up till now, and I will continue to keep that promise till the war is over."

"its not her fault you are family and we just couldn't live without you we're just worried about you that's all." Boris interjected

Balto sat there for a few moments to take it all in, he was home, not for very long but was home never the less, and he was going to make certain that his precious time here was not spent idly. To his father he had stories for him to help clear his conscience, but for Jenna he knew the perfect place to spend the night with her.

"Uhh Boris would you mind stepping out for just a minute I would like to speak to Jenna in private"

Boris was all too glad to help his son in this endeavor, "Sure Ill be topside if you need me" as he walked past Balto he whispered in his ear, "go get her tiger" and with that he walked up the stairs to t the deck of the ship.

_Humph I guess im a tiger now too, maybe steele was right after all about being mixed up_ he thought to himself with a slight smile coming on to his face.

"What's so funny?" Jenna asked in a playful manner as she advanced toward Balto.

"oh nothing important" he said, "you know I missed you right?"

"Of course I did"

"and did you miss me?" he asked with puppy dog eyes and an innocent voice to go along with it

She smiled very seductively as she walked over and past him making sure to brush her tail under his face and around his neck, _I like where this is going_ he thought to himself. "I don't know it all depends on how well tonight goes" she said with and innocent voice to mock his.

"Speaking of tonight, I thought of the perfect place to take you, if you're up to it that is." He said turning his head to the side.

"Pfft I'm up for whatever you can dish out big guy" she fired back with a determined smirk on her face.

"Alright meet me outside the boiler room by the hospital tonight around nine"

"Meet you?" she asked, "can't I stay here with you the whole day?"

"I'm sorry Jenna but I want to spend some time with Boris today, and besides your humans are probably worried about you.

"Alright I'll go but you better not be late" she said with a playful amount of threatening in her voice.

A couple of hours later

Balto was running as fast as his legs could carry him, the warm summer night breeze was blowing in his face as he continued on towards his destination. _Goddamn it Balto you had one job, just one job, _he thought to himself as he frantically tried to get to the boiler room before Jenna did. He made his way down Front Street where he could see what few dogs that were still on the streets making their way to the old Saw Mill. He quickly rounded the corner to the back of the hospital, although he thought to himself how such a small wooden 'shed' could be considered a hospital, and looked around. Panting briskly he said to himself out loud, "Good I beat her here" the feeling of elation last only the briefest of moments before he heard it. "nope your late Balto, seriously dude you had just one job." Jenna said smiling as she came out from behind some crates that were stacked over in the alley way corner.

He looked down at the ground with a false expression of shame on his face, "Sorry I was busy with my other girl friends they are quite a tiring bunch" he tried to say with a straight face.

She walked up to him "you've been around Steele to much, cause your starting to act like him" she said.

"Wow Jenna I'm heartbroken you would compare me to a brute such as him" he tried to say in a poor English accent.

"Humph you asked me to come here for a reason all I see are a bunch of crates and a locked door, not very romantic if you asked me"

Balto walked over to the door and then turned around and look at her, "Don't worry baby, I got the keys to the city" he said with a confident tone as he used his large wolf claws to lift the hinge pins out of place on the door, they fell to the ground with a hard clang as he pushed to door open then proceed to place one paw out in an inviting manner "Ladies first" he said.

Oh how gentlemanly of you she said sarcastically as she crossed the threshold into the room. In the corner there was the boiler that generated most of the heat for the hospital during the winter months, for now it was off considering it was the beginning of summer. They continued to walk forward till they came to an opening in the wall where the pipes that were connected to the boiler went to heat the hospital, as they crouched to craws into the small space Balto turned to her and said "Stay close"

"No worries there" she responded. She looked around at the view that was in front of her, it was dark and dank with old mildew covered pipes running this way and that, and the ground was completely covered in ash. "its so dreary down here" she said as she followed him "not that im scarred or anything" she said before jumping back in fright of a spider web, "Dreary?" he responded as he used his tail to flick the spider web away "You kiddin? it's the most beautiful spot in the world" he explained as they walked "dogs would travel for years just to come here"

"Here? I can't see why" she said as she rubbed some dirt from her eye

"That's cause your looking at the bowl half empty" he whispered to her

He then proceeded toward a group of multi colored broken bottles sitting on the side of an ash pile. "you see this" he said as he pushed the bottles to the top of the ash, "these are the polar ice caps."

Not impressed with his bottles Jenna spoke, "Balto those are broken bottles and they're not half empty they're all empty."

He smiled at her and lifted his head in the direction of a lamp that was above them "the sun"

Now she was looking at him as if he were crazy

"And to the north" he lifted up his tail and a brilliant flash of colors filled the room. The look on Jenna's face was one of pure awe as she gazed at the wonderful menagerie of colors in front of her. "oh Balto you were right it is beautiful"

"Yeah" he responded "Beautiful" except he wasn't looking at the lights he was looking at her. She noticed this and looked directly back at him and the both began to close for a kiss…..

Meanwhile….

The party in the Saw Mill was fun to say the least good music, good food, and good company were all present. Steele and his friends were sitting on large pillows enjoying the praises that were being thrusted upon them while Kodi, Wes, Vinny and Brooklyn were busy over in the corner talking with the girl dogs that they had met earlier that day. Star was attempting to talk to Dixie but it was futile she was too engrossed with her hero Steele to notice. Steele turned over to Kaltag and began to say to him "I told you joining up would be easy, we got these fools eating right out of our Paws and all we did was scare a few japs outta their homes and we're treated like war heroes, I don't think anything can ruin this setup" Kaltag could only nod in approval of his leaders decision, if you would have told him at the beginning of all this that this would be the result of joining the army he would have told them they were crazy, Steele was right nothing could ruin this moment. That was until Lt. Hunt entered, "quickly turn it to station 79.3, it's an emergency." He shouted, Vinny stood up at this point in time "You heard the dog change the station". A Chihuahua sitting by the radio complied and quickly turned the channel. "Breaking news developing on the home front" the news castor began "Japanese forces have invaded the Aleutian islands of Alaska and word has also reached us that the fortress of Corregidor has been taken with thousands of Americans captured." The radio went back to static after that.

"The Aleutians, that's only 20 hours from here!" one dog exclaimed

"The japs could be here tomorrow" another said

The room began to fill up with a feeling of panic, Lt. Hunt walked up to Steele "Get everyone organized outside I have our orders for tomorrow and I don't want to repeat myself"

"Yes sir" Steele responded "Kaltag, Wes, Star, Nikki, Vinny, Brooklyn, and Kodi form up outside!…..wait where is the Half breed?"

"**Balto** said he was going to spend the night with Jenna" Kodi said with a little bit of venom in his voice as he didn't like the fact that Steele was insulting his friend.

"Great, ill go find him you guys just get lined up for the Lt."

Back in the boiler room….

Balto was sitting there next to the sleeping form of Jenna reminiscing on the night he just had with her. Nothing he thought could spoil this night. **CRASH **That's when he heard something crash in the alley way, which to say the least woke Jenna up, _well almost anything_ that's when he saw Steele under some wood that had fallen on top of him when he fell over when running into the alley. "Steele" Jenna said when she saw the white and black malamute. He quickly stood up and regained his posture as if nothing had happened. "Well, well, well what's wrong with this picture" he said in a calm yet threatening tone. "Back off Steele" Balto growled as he got into a defensive stance, "Whoa easy there wolfie, as much as I want to enjoy ruining this moment I have orders from the Lt. to come get you for a mission briefing" Steele said.

"Why?" Balto inquired as he began to take a less aggressive stance

"Because the japs have invaded Alaska" Steele finished

At this Balto's eyes widened his worst fears have come true not only is he going off to war but the enemy is in his back yard all of his loved ones are threatened, failure was not an option.

"Come on lets go" Steele said and with that the two dogs where off to get their orders.

When they got there, they quickly fell into line with Lt. Hunt in front of them, he began to speak. "As you know the Japs have invaded Alaska through the Aleutian islands, they are located on the island of Kiska and it is our job to force them out. Acting officers for this mission will be Balto and Steele; you are both being promoted to the rank of Sgt. Steele your squad will be composed of me, Star, Nikki, and Kaltag. Balto your squad will be comprised of Wes, Kodi, Vinny, and Brooklyn. We leave tomorrow morning for the front I suggest you take this time to say good bye to your loved ones."

The next day…

The truck sat there on that cloudy June day, not an ounce of sunlight showing on the ground below, waiting for its passengers to board for the front. The enemy was on their land and the luxury of safety the Pacific Ocean gave them was now destroyed, they all knew the Japanese must be destroyed and driven off the Aleutian islands at all cost. The dogs sat there with their friends to say good bye for the last time maybe

"Dixie I uhh…." Star began before being cut off, by a rather not to interested Dixie when she saw Steele, and the little heartbroken Husky could only watch his crush talk to his boss

"oh Steele your so brave for going to take on the japs" she said all wide eyed and cutesy like.

"Whatever" was all he could say as he rolled his eyes to the little Pomeranian, he didn't like her at all and the fact that she ignored Stars advances all the time displeased him to say the least.

"Alright everyone say your goodbyes and get on the truck" Lt. Hunt said as he hopped on, in front of his transport sat parked 2 more trucks that had both men and equipment being loaded up on them.

"Come on guys the war isn't gonna win itself" Sgt. Balto said as he jumped on the truck with his squad composed of Vinny, Wes, Brooklyn and Kodi. Steele followed with Kaltag, Star and Nikki in his Squad, the 10 of them made up the 14th attack dog Platoon. They all followed him on and were each put in their respective cages. The soldiers who were driving came to the back of the truck and shut the back door to prepare for departure. As the truck began to roll along the road toward Kiska Balto looked back up toward his boat, he could see Jenna standing on the prow looking out toward the trucks as they left for their destination, tears in her eyes. "Alright boys get some shut eye it's about a 20 hour drive to Kiska" Lt. Hunt said. Everybody was eager to comply to say the least.

June 6th

Balto awoke with a terrible jolt, when the truck hit a large bump in the road. "Damn" he said as he rubbed his head "this fucking driver sucks, that's the 3rd time I've been woken up by his shit driving" he turned to his left when he heard Vinny speak up.

"yo Balto look out the back"

When he looked out he was awestruck by what he saw they were now in a convoy of over 30 trucks and a few tanks. It was at this time the others began to stir and were filled with a similar expression of awe. "Ha dem japs wont know what hit em" Brooklyn said in his thick New York accent.

"That's if you guys don't turn tail and run in the first few shots" Steele said. It was at this time the soldier who was driving spoke to his partner in the passenger seat, "hey Paul turn the radio up" he complied and turned it up.

"This next song is dedicated to our boys fighting on the front lines, this is Bad Company by Five Finger Death Punch (because screw you I'm the author and this song is badass).

As the argument in the back of the truck began to heat up Star spoke up, Yo guys shut the fuck up this song is tough. Hey Balto I kinda liked the label you gave us earlier"

"What label?" he responded

"Bad Company" Star Replied.

**A company always on the run….a destiny oh it's against The Rising Sun **

**I was born…. a shotgun in my hands behind the gun ill make my final stand **Star began to sing along

**Yeah! that's why they call me bad company! I can't deny **

**bad, bad company till the day I die **

"yo dog this song is pretty tough" Wes said as he joined in.

**until the day I die**

**until the day I die **

after that they began to join in of course they changed some of the lyrics to include all of them

**rebel souls deserters we're never called**

**choose a gun and threw away the sun**

**now these towns well they all know our names the death punch sound is our claim to fame **

**that's why you call us….. bad company! we can't deny Bad bad company till the day I die**

**until the day we die **

**until the day we die **

**until the day we die**

**eye for an eye **

**tooth for a tooth **

**blood for blood **

**we've all got to die. **

It was at this time that unseen eyes in the hills of Kiska began to train their sights on the unsuspecting convoy below

**That's why you call us…. Bad Company! we can't deny Bad Bad Company till the day we die**

**Bad Company we wont deny, Bad, bad company until the day we die**

**till the day we die**

**until the day we die **

**until the day we die**

they all stopped and let Balto finish the last line

"UTE" the Japanese commander on the bluffs gave to his artillery

**until the day I die.** INCOMING!

BOOM

"BALTO!….."

The whole world was chaos for that one brief moment then silence, and then the whole world became black.


End file.
